The fifth season of the cult-favorite show Arrested Development will show up in your Netflix queue on May 29—and, based on early reviews, is pretty funny. The behind-the-scenes situation on the show, though, is anything but.
As an avid fan since Arrested Development started airing on Fox in 2003, I've been looking forward to diving back into the absurdist world of the Bluths, their ridiculous chicken dances, and the family banana stand (where there's always money). But some of that excitement has been marred by the harassment allegations surrounding Jeffrey Tambor.
In February the actor was fired from his other show Transparent in light of sexual misconduct accusations by two transgender women—Van Barnes and Trace Lysette—who work on the series. (In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tambor admits to having anger issues but denies sexually harassing his colleagues on the show.)
Now a New York Times roundtable with the cast has people fired up. The headline alone—"We Sat Down With the 'Arrested Development' Cast. It Got Raw"—sets you up for something heavy, but what comes next is both shocking and infuriating.
Writer Sopan Deb assembles stars Tambor, Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter, Alia Shawkat, Will Arnett, David Cross, and Tony Hale for a conversation about the new season; naturally, the Tambor situation came up. The reaction from the men (Deb, excluded) in the room? Well, I'm kicking myself for being surprised at that. Because frankly, it's a moment that, as women, we've all had.
In the aforementioned Hollywood Reporter interview, Tambor (in discussing his anger issues) referenced a "blowup" with costar Walter on the Arrested Development set. At the time her rep said, "Jessica does not wish to talk about Jeffrey Tambor.” But in the Times piece, the incident comes up again, and this time they're sitting in the same room together.
The dialogue exchange is indeed a tough read, but won't be unfamiliar. The male cast members, particularly Bateman, effusively leap to Tambor's defense and talk over Walter, who is attempting to express how she felt about Tambor's alleged verbal abuse, which she clarifies was not sexual in nature.
Listening to the discussion is even more difficult—the emotion in Walter's voice is so palpable as the men talk over her. We reached out to The New York Times for the audio, which they declined, but you can hear that exchange here.
See the exchange, below:
Walter sounds like she's crying as she tells these men that nobody has ever treated her this way during her long career. And Tambor himself admits to at least a portion of his behavior, including this particular incident. But Bateman is practically tripping over himself to find an excuse for it, all while negating Walter's voice. Shawkat, the only other female in the room, is the one person who backs up her costar, but she's basically ignored as well. Bateman claims to not want to "belittle or excuse," but then does exactly that. It's maddening.
This situation will feel all too familiar to many women. Who among us hasn't sat in a meeting and been talked over by a man with a terrible idea? It's some next-level mansplaining, what Bateman is doing here. Does he really think he needs to explain the dynamics of a set to a woman who's worked in the industry for 60 years? Apparently, yes. Then there's the fact that Walter seems to feel compelled to be the one to diffuse the situation and "let it go" when none of this was her doing in the first place. That rings so true to the female experience as well.
Because this conversation is so sadly familiar, the reaction to the story online was quick and fierce.
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Writer Jessica Valenti dubbed Bateman's behavior "toxic complicity," which feels like an accurate descriptor.
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Bateman himself took to Twitter early this morning to apologize after the backlash. "Based on listening to the NYT interview and hearing people’s thoughts online, I realize that I was wrong here," he wrote. "I sound like I’m condoning yelling at work. I do not. It sounds like I’m excusing Jeffery. I do not. It sounds like I’m insensitive to Jessica. I am not. In fact, I’m horrified that I wasn’t more aware of how this incident affected her."
"I was so eager to let Jeffrey know that he was supported in his attempt to learn, grow, and apologize that I completely underestimated the feelings of the victim, another person I deeply love—and she was," he continued. "I’m incredibly embarrassed and deeply sorry to have done that to Jessica. This is a big learning moment for me. I shouldn’t have tried so hard to mansplain, or fix a fight, or make everything OK. I should’ve focused more on what the most important…. Part of it all is—there’s never any excuse for abuse, in any form, from any gender. And the victim’s voice needs to be heard and respected. Period. I didn’t say that and instead said a bunch of other stuff and not very well. I deeply, and sincerely, apologize."
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Listen, it's a good thing that Bateman apologized but frustrating that this has to continue to be explained to men in our lives. These types of conversations happen in front of our faces—and behind our backs—every single day. That's we have to constantly fight to change the default position from "defend the other guy" to "listen when a woman is talking." It's exhausting work, but it must continue.